Design principles and considerations for the ‘ideal’ silicon piezoresistive pressure sensor: a focused review

Over the past four decades, the field of silicon piezoresistive pressure sensors has undergone a major revolution in terms of design methodology and fabrication processes. Cutting edge fabrication technologies have resulted in improved precision in key factors like dimensions of diaphragm and placement of piezoresistors. Considering the unique nature of each sensor and the trade-offs in design, it is not feasible to follow a standard design approach. Thus, it is useful to derive the specific design from a number of important factors to arrive at the ‘ideal’ design. In this paper, we critically review and analyze the various design considerations and principles for silicon piezoresistive pressure sensor. We also report the effect of these considerations on the sensor output taking help of various CAD tools. Keeping in view the accuracy of state-of-the-art fabrication tools and the stringent demands of the present day market, it has become important to include many of these design aspects. Modelling using analytical expressions for thin plates has also been looked into as it gives a quick guideline and estimation of critical parameters before detailed finite element method analysis. Wherever possible, fabrication imperfections and their effects have been discussed. Dependency of piezoresistive coefficients on temperature and doping concentration, the effect of clamping condition of diaphragms and fabrication using wet bulk micromachining is also analyzed. Silicon-on-insulator based sensors along with innovative design strategies, and future trends have also been discussed. This paper will serve as a quick and comprehensive guide for pressure sensor developers.     

Design principles for preschool children’s interactive TV

Preschool children have increased access to media via a number of platforms, including digital interactive television. However, the viewing and interaction needs of this user group have not been extensively researched. The project reported in this paper investigates preschoolers’ interactions with a simulated interactive television set-up. The study involved the development of an electronic programme guide prototype and its empirical evaluation. This research was carried out with children in Brazil and in the United Kingdom, aged between three and four. The main issues that arose during the interaction with the prototype application are documented, and a list of design principles is presented to assist in the design of accessible preschool interactive television applications for this age group.     

Can the Web turn into a digital library?

There is no doubt that the enormous amounts of information on the WWW are influencing how we work, live, learn and think. However, information on the WWW is in general too chaotic, not reliable enough and specific material often too difficult to locate that it cannot be considered a serious digital library. In this paper we concentrate on the question how we can retrieve reliable information from the Web, a task that is fraught with problems, but essential if the WWW is supposed to be used as serious digital library. It turns out that the use of search engines has many dangers. We will point out some of the possible ways how those dangers can be reduced and how dangerous traps can be avoided. Another approach to find useful information on the Web is to use “classical” resources of information like specialized dictionaries, lexica or encyclopaedias in electronic form, such as the Britannica. Although it seemed for a while that such resources might more or less disappear from the Web due to attempts such as Wikipedia, some to the classical encyclopaedias and specialized offerings have picked up steam again and should not be ignored. They do sometimes suffer from what we will call the “wishy-washy” syndrome explained in this paper. It is interesting to note that Wikipedia which is also larger than all other encyclopaedias (at least the English version) is less afflicted by this syndrome, yet has some other serious drawbacks. We discuss how those could be avoided and present a system that is halfway between prototype and production system that does take care of many of the aforementioned problems and hence may be a model for further undertakings in turning (part of) the Web into a useable digital library.     

Design of a hardware preprocessor for the ‘DIAS’ multilevel picture information system

DIAS is a multilevel-multiprocessor picture information system architecture. It receives many pictures simultaneously from its environment and ‘decides’ how to process them according to its built up experience.This paper deals with the hardware design of the image preprocessor for the DIAS system. Several details concerning the image acquisition are discussed, including a unique photoarray camera and a hardware preprocessor which act to acquire and reduce the amount of data provided to the Master-Planner processor of the DIAS structure. In particular, the image preprocessor receives the image data in parallel and generates a number of critical image parameters, such as average intensities of various picture regions, geographic locations of the informative picture regions, number of pixels, etc., appropriate for fast decision making by the Master-Planner processor. The internal circuitry and functions of the image preprocessor are presented as well as a simple VLSI realization.     

Towards incorporating personality into the design of an interface: a method for facilitating users’ interaction with the display

A novel user interface (UI) design based on the personality characteristics of users was proposed and examined in a mobile learning context. It was argued that differences in personality can stimulate individuals’ information processing capabilities in according to their display preferences, thus an effective visual experience. The personality characteristics and design preferences of 87 students (37 male, and 50 female) were collected and analysed. The clustering result (using k-means algorithm) revealed two potential personality types, which we call the neuroticism and the extra-conscientiousness groups. Then, an interface was designed for each personality group using the association rules method. An eye-tracking device was used to record changes in participants’ eye-pupil diameter and fixation duration, and thus examine their cognitive load and attention. The participants’ eye movement data of each group showed that their visual experience was significantly improved when using the interface designed based on their personality characteristics. This work offers some important design and practical insights to the human–computer interaction and the design of mobile device UI.     

Design and evaluation of a digital wearable ring and a smartphone application to help monitor and manage the effects of Raynaud’s phenomenon

Multimedia Tools and Applications - This paper presents the iterative research, design and evaluation phases of a digital wearable health system for monitoring, managing and possibly assisting in...     

The different roles of ‘Design Process Champions’ for digital libraries in African higher education

The concept of design stakeholders is central to effective design of digital libraries. We report on research findings that identified the presence of a key subset of stakeholders which we term ‘design process champions’. Our findings have identified that these champions can change interaction patterns and the eventual output of the other stakeholders (project participants) in the design process of digital library projects. This empirical research is based upon 38 interviews with key stakeholders and a review of documentary evidence in 10 innovative digital library design projects (e.g. mobile clinical libraries) located in three African universities in Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa. Through a grounded theory approach, two different types of the ‘design process champions’ emerged from the data with varying levels of effectiveness in the design process: (i) domain champions and (ii) multidisciplinary champions. The domain champions assume a ‘siloed’ approach of engagement while the multidisciplinary champions take on a participatory engagement throughout the design process. A discussion of the implications of information specialists functioning as domain champions is highlighted. We conclude by suggesting that the multidisciplinary champions’ approach is particularly useful in supporting sustainability of digital library design projects.     

Does a Creative Designer Necessarily Translate into the Creative Design of a Product? Exploring Factors Facilitating the Creativity of a New Product

Product creativity is a rarely studied topic in the area of new product development; nevertheless, its importance has been recognized by many researchers in a variety of fields. In this research, two studies were conducted: the first was quantitative and the second was qualitative. These studies examined the relationships among five variables: analogical thinking ability, creative self‐efficacy, length of experience, team climate for creativity and product creativity. The results of a multiple regression indicated that analogical thinking ability is an antecedent of design creativity, and that creative self‐efficacy is a mediator between them. The results also showed that length of experience and team climate for creativity have significant moderating effects. These findings indicate that both person‐based (i.e., ability, self‐efficacy and length of experience) and situation‐based (team climate) variables are key factors in developing the creative design of a new product.     

Study of the digital divide evaluation model for government agencies–a Taiwanese local government’s perspective

Many countries have devoted increasing attention to information infrastructures. However, a gap in digitalization exists among different government agencies, causing unequal opportunities for accessing infrastructures, information, and communication technologies. This paper, based on Gowin’s Vee structure, is an empirical study of the digital divide in the context of local governments in Taiwan. A model for identifying and measuring aforementioned digital divide is constructed in this paper. We first refer to the grounded theory to draft a framework for measuring the digital divide in local governments. Then, through the use of a questionnaire distributed to experts implemented alongside the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), we generate five dimensions (including ICT infrastructure, human resources, external environment, internals of organization, and information) and 42 measures. Finally, we measure the actual levels of the digital divide in local governments with the resulting digital divide evaluation model. This paper aims to generate results that can serve as a reference for government agencies (at all levels) in the formulation of their digitalization strategies. Moreover, the digital divide evaluation model constructed in this study goes beyond existing measures and may serve as a reference for academics in the examination of methods to narrow the digital divide in various levels of governmental bodies. Taken together, the features of integration, comprehensiveness, and wide applicability of this proposed model can be considered the theoretical contributions to digital divide and local government hierarchy research.     

‘DreamTeam’: A platform for synchronous collaborative applications

This paper presents a platform for developing, testing and executing synchronous collaborative applications in a distributed, heterogeneous environment. Even though several environments exist nowadays, specific problems are not treated satisfactorily. Especially in real network environments, problems like unstable network connections and low bandwidths have to be considered.The DreamTeam platform addresses the special needs of environments with non-optimal characteristics which can, be found in distance learning scenarios. DreamTeam comprises a development environment, a simulation environment and a runtime environment; it is based upon the concept of a fully decentralised architecture and encourages rapid prototyping.DreamTeam supports developers of shared applications through a component concept. Using components helps to divide a software project into well-defined parts. Well-documented interfaces help to reduce integration efforts and improve software quality. A selection of sample applications with DreamTeam validates our design concept.This paper is an extended version of Roth, J. and Unger, C. (1998). DreamTeam: A Platform for Synchronous Collaborative Applications. In Herrmann, Th. and Just-Hahn, K. (eds)Groupware und organisatorische Innovation (D-CSCW '98). B.G. Teubner, Stuttgart, 153–165.     

Drawing evaluation into design for mobile computing: a case study of the Renwick Gallery’s Hand Held Education Project

We present a detailed case study of the design, launch, and evaluation of a handheld mobile computing guide for visitors to the Smithsonian American Art Museums Renwick Gallery. Of particular emphasis is integrating methods and tools of evaluation into the process of designing for new visitor experiences. Using a method of reflective design and evaluation incorporating interviews, surveys, observation, and clickstream analysis, we uncover assumptions and hypothesis for further testing. Finally, we discuss the cross-over between physical navigation of museum spaces and information navigation of online museum data.     

Temporal sampling error analysis of the Earth’s outgoing radiation from a Moon-based platform

This study investigates the temporal sampling error on the Earth’s outgoing radiation, with a potential Earth observation platform, the Moon-based platform. To simulate the Earth’s outgoing radiation viewed from a Moon-based platform, we used the datasets of the NASA’s Goddard Earth Observing System Version 5 (GEOS-5) systems as the truth. The analysis is proposed by sampling the simulated time series. The sampling uncertainty associated with a given sampling interval is measured by computing the Root-Mean-Square-Error (RMSE) of the original and subsampled time series. The effects of different sampling intervals are evaluated by maximum bias. The effects of different sampling time are estimated by comparing correlations between the subsampled time series of different start time at specific temporal interval and the origin. The results show that the temporal sampling errors have the characteristics of the periodical uncertainties and bias, and 4-h sampling interval is a turning point. The sampling interval larger than 4 h will result in large uncertainties and bias.     

User Experience Design of a Prototype Kiosk: A Case for the İstanbul Public Transportation System

In this study, user experience design (UXD) of a prototype kiosk for the ?stanbul Public Transportation System (?PTS) was presented. The kiosk included the following modules: a guide for tourists and newcomers, route finder, ?stanbulkart operations (the smart city card for transportation), purchasing tickets-tokens, and a coin machine. The methodology consisted of a user survey, persona and scenario generation, design heuristics, system architecture, and user experience testing. The survey conducted with 168 participants revealed the following key points: Majority (68%) of the users of the current public transportation system ended up at wrong destinations at least once; 98% of the users stated that they would like to access a kiosk for their route planning needs; and 55% of the users were even willing to pay for such a service. The users overall thought that: the proposed kiosk would improve their public transportation experience because it included everything needed for transportation, it would make route planning easier, it was intuitive and easy to use, and it was accessible in many places. The empirical evidence shown by this study validated the UXD approaches suggested in the literature. Survey, persona and scenario generation, user testing, and mind mapping all were proven to be very useful steps to achieve a successful UXD. The design framework presented in this article may serve as a reference for the designers.     

In Search of the ‘Magic Carpet’: Design and Experimentation of a Bimanual 3D Navigation Interface

Hardware and software advances are making real-time 3D graphics part of all mainstream computers. World Wide Web sites encoded in Virtual Reality Modeling Language or other formats allow users across the Internet to share virtual 3D ‘worlds’. As the supporting software and hardware become increasingly powerful, the usability of the current 3D navigation interfaces becomes the limiting factor to the wide-spread application of 3D technologies. In this paper, we analyze the human factors issues in designing a usable navigation interface, including interface metaphor, integration and separation of multiple degrees of freedom, mode switching, isotonic versus isometric control, seamless merger of the 3D navigation devices with the GUI pointing and scrolling devices, and two-handed input. We propose a dual joystick navigation interface design based on a real-world metaphor (bulldozer), and present an experimental evaluation. The results show that the proposed bulldozer interface outperformed the status quo mouse-mapping interface in maze travelling and free flying tasks by 25–50%. Limitations of and possible future improvements to the bulldozer interface are also presented.     

Design for innovation – A methodology to engineer the innovation diffusion into the development process

In its hyper-inflated usage, innovation simply means “something new”, and is applied to any technical novelty. In its true meaning, innovating means designing something that will not only work under a technical point of view, but will also make business sense. “Design for Innovation” means considering that design cannot simply focus on a narrow meaning of “product use”, because this could severely limit the diffusion of innovative products. The paper proposes an original model for representing what we call “beyond-use situations” and the influences among the actors involved in the innovation diffusion process.Taking inspiration from social influence network models and from the Multi-issue Actor Strategy Analysis Model (MASAM), the paper presents an operational methodology to assess the influence of different actors on the decision to adopt a new product. In turn, such methodology should support design teams to conceive novel solutions more likely to become factual innovations. The paper also describes a computer-implementable technique, loosely derived from Quality Function Deployment, to practically apply the proposed methodology. An industrial case study from the medical-care sector illustrates its logic and operational steps.     

A web-based platform for the simulation–optimization of industrial problems

This study presents a platform for industrial, real-world simulation–optimization based on web techniques. The design of the platform is intended to be generic and thereby make it possible to apply the platform in various problem domains. In the implementation of the platform, modern web techniques, such as Ajax, JavaScript, GWT, and ProtoBuf, are used. The platform is tested and evaluated on a real industrial problem of production optimization at Volvo Aero Corporation, a company that develops and manufactures high-technology components for aircraft and gas turbine engines. The results of the evaluation show that while the platform has several benefits, implementing a web-based system is not completely straightforward. At the end of the paper, possible pitfalls are discussed and some recommendations for future implementations are outlined.